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Nitrogen balance from pig farms (2002)

  Denmark
2002

 

The Danish aquatic environment plan focuses on reducing nitrogen discharge to the aquatic environment. Farming is one of the major contributors to this discharge, which is why it is useful to have an overview of the nitrogen balance and emissions in Danish farming. The data presented here refers to the Nitrogen use and loses in different types of Danish pig farms in 2002. The different farm types are set according to soil type and major enterprise and they can be seen here. For process description, data collection and treatment etc. please look at the processes for each farm type (here). For more details on the Nitrogen balance method see here.

The Nitrogen balance data is presented in three tables:

Table 1. Characteristics of area, land use and production levels on full time mixed pig farms in Denmark year 2002

Table 2. Farm gate N-turnover and -loss at mixed pig farms in Denmark year 2002

Table 3. Field level N-turnover at mixed pig farms in Denmark year 2002

 

Table 1. Characteristics of area, land use and production levels on full time mixed pig farms in Denmark year 2002 (average by farm type)

Soil type1)

Sandy loam

Sand

Farm type (LSU2) ha-1)

<1.4

1.4-1.7

>1.7

<1.4

1.4-1.7

>1.7

Representatively

 

 
 
Number of farms in data set
68
29
107
89
53
176
Area represented by farm type [1000 ha]
114
39
112
152
75
174
% of Danish pig production
8
5
19
10
8
30
Herd data
LSU per farm [LSU farm-1]
71
100
198
73
175
193
Stocking rate [LSU ha-1]
0.7
1.5
2.2
0.7
1.4
2.4
Feed uptake, 100 SFU LSU-1 y-1
48
47
46
47
45
46
N uptake, kg N LSU-1 y-1
149
151
148
150
148
147
N-efficiency, herd3)
34.2%
34.4%
32.9%
33.5%
33.5%
32.8%
Area
Total farm area [ha farm-1]
96
69
90
99
125
80
Crop rotation [% of farm area]
Permanent grass
1
1
1
1
1
2
Set-aside
8
7
8
10
9
10
Cereal for harvest
78
78
77
76
75
76
Grass/clover in rotation
0
0
1
1
1
1
Production
Grover pigs, no (1999)
-351
-409
1094
-294
948
1270
Pork meat, 100 kg, live weight
1454
2058
3229
1388
2807
3015
Cereal yield [100 kg ha-1]
65
67
66
56
55
57

1) Sandy loam > 5% clay, Sand > 5% clay
2) Livestock units (LSU), DK definition: 1 LSU = 100 kg total N in manure ex-storage, 1 LSU = 35 pigs produced (30 - 100 kg), 1 LSU = 4.3 sow and 175 piglets in one year
3) N-efficiency = output of animals products/input of feed  

 

Table 2. Farm gate N-turnover and -loss at mixed pig farms in Denmark year 2002 (kg N ha-1 year-1)

Soil type

Sandy loam

Sand

Farmtype (LSU ha-1)

<1.4

1.4-2.3

>1.7

<1.4

1.4-1.7

>1.7

Imputs

 

 
 
Mineral fertiliser
94
64
65
76
53
46

Organic fert. & live stock1)

14
14
-36
19
10
-50
Supplement feed
58
166
277
64
162
305
Biological N-fixation
3
3
2
2
3
3
Deposition and precipitation
16
16
16
16
16
16
Total input
185
263
324
178
244
320
 
Outputs
Meat
-47
-90
-121
-46
-80
-132
Cash crops
-41
-45
-46
-29
-29
-29
Straw1)
-5
-5
-5
-6
-5
-5
Total output
-94
-140
-172
-81
-114
-166
 
Farm gate N-balance
91
123
152
97
130
154
N loss, stable and storage2)
-14
-28
-42
-14
-27
-46

 

Field N balance
77
96
110
83
103
108
Field N-efficiency3)
56%
52%
49%
50%
44%
45%
 
N loss, field
Fertilisation, manure spreading2)
-9
-15
-16
-10
-14
-16
Crops2)
-5
-5
-5
-5
-5
-5
Denitrification2)
-13
-23
-24
-7
-8
-9
Soil-N changes
-3
5
7
-1
3
4
Leaching4)
-53
-48
-58
-63
-73
-74
1) Net import = import-export of manure, straw and living animals
2) Calculated standard ammonia emission and denitrifiction
3) N-efficiency = 100 * output/input
4) Leaching = field N balance - N aerial loss (fertilization + crops + denitrification) +/- soil- N changes

 

Table 3. Field level N-turnover at mixed pig farms in Denmark year 2002 (kg N ha-1 year-1)

Soil type

Sandy loam

Sand

Farmtype (LSU ha-1)

<1.4

1.4-1.7

>1.7

<1.4

1.4-1.7

>1.7

Inputs            
Mineral fertiliser
94
64
65
76
53
46
Imported organic fertiliser
4
0
0
11
0
0
Manure from own herd1)
59
118
131
61
114
130
Biological N-fixation
3
3
2
2
3
3
Deposition and precipitation
16
16
16
16
16
16
Total input
176
201
214
166
186
195
 
Outputs            
Cash crops
-10
-11
-11
-7
-7
-7
Grain
-32
-34
-35
-23
-22
-23
Grain for feed2)
-51
-53
-48
-45
-45
-48
Straw harvested
-6
-6
-8
-7
-7
-8
Straw mulched3) (Not in output)
-10
-9
-13
-3
0
0
Roughage for feed2)
0
0
-2
-2
-1
-1
Roughage not utilized by own herd4) (Not in output)
0
-1
0
-1
-1
-1
Total output
-98
-105
-104
-83
-83
-87
 
Field N balance
77
96
110
83
103
108
Field N-efficiency5)
56%
52%
49%
50%
44%
45%

1) After deduction of ammonia loss in stables, storage and sold manure, see farm gate balance
2) Feed used in own herd
3) Straw left on field, not included in balance but used in soil-N modeling
4) Factor = 0 = not include in balances
5) N-efficiency = 100*output/input

Administrative information

Data URL: http://www.lcafood.dk/processes/agriculture/N_balance_pigfarms.html
Version no.: 1.00
Author: Ib Sillebak Kristensen, Danish Institute of Agricultural Science.
Data responsible: Ib Sillebak Kristensen, DIAS

Contact:

Data entry: Transformed into this format by Rikke Frederiksen, DIAS
Data completed: HTML format: November 2004.